April game sales take hit, led by Prototype 2

Well, April wasn't expected to be an enormous month for the gaming industry, but according to the NPD Group, April wasn't even a decent month. In fact, total video game sales during April 2012 fell 32 percent year-over-year from $930 million to $630 million. 

“This year, Easter fell very early in April, which means most Easter-related purchases may have fallen into March this year, whereas last year, Easter fell late in April causing most sales to fall in that month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "We usually find that Easter-related purchases generate an extra 10 percent in revenue in the month they occur, so some of the softness compared to last April could be attributed to the shift in Easter timing.”

“I think what the new physical retail content sales reflect a very light release schedule in terms of the amount of compelling new games," Frazier added. "Last April, the top seven titles outsold the top-selling title this year, and, simply stated, there were notably fewer new market introductions." 

Below are the top 10 best-selling games in the U.S. for April 2012.

1. Prototype 2 (360, PS3)**
2. Kinect Star Wars (360)
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)**
4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)**
5. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PC, PS2)
6. The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings (360, PC)**
7. Mario Party 9 (Wii)
8. Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)**
9. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3)
10. MLB 12: The Show (PS3, PSV)

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Anytime Kinect Star Wars surpasses Modern Warfare 3 on an NPD chart, you know it's been a drab month. But guess what folks? It only gets worse. The NPD Group reports that physical software sales fell from $533.7 million to $307.2 million, a 42 percent decline. Microsoft continued to hold its spot at the top of the list, moving 236,000 units, but even they haven't boasted their numbers. 

"I think it’s a simple as that because when we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever – we’re just saw a lot less this April as compared to last," Frazier ended with. Hopefully May will jumpstart the year that's to come, especially with triple-A titles like Max Payne 3 on the horizon. 

Source: [GameInformer]